Kingdom Hearts:Reverse
by Blader 25
Summary: Some adventures are better left told after all is said and done, right? In Kairi's case, she'll have to learn how to use the keyblade, combat a new threat to the Realm of Light, figure out where Sora is, and decide who to train under! Oh. And then there's that pink haired lady with the gunblade. And then there's Lea. Will the Princess ever get a reprieve?
1. Chapter 1

_A dream. A vision. A meeting. A connection forged in the stars, moving past time and space to bring the chosen lock to its key._

You could say that waking up sweaty, out of breath, nearly screaming is bad thing. In Kairi's case, that was just the beginning. Her dream had been pleasant, then became a twisted nightmare: She had met Sora and Riku out on the beach, learning Riku had become a Master, while Sora had not. That wasn't going to stop Sora. A bald, elderly, man with a grey goatee and elf-like ears appeared, and forced Sora and Riku to sink into darkness, while chains of darkness bound her feet and hands, leaving her powerless to do nothing but break down and cry. Those fainting moments of watching them sink into that inky black despair haunted her mind, playing over and over, her heart beginning to race as she felt terror grip at her for her friends. She awoke with a start, a jolt, as a rush of adrenaline rushed through her veins.

Kairi looked out her window at the sea, waves calmly lapping at the shore, the crimson tide hitting the dark gray sand...

"_Wait a second. The ocean isn't ever red, it's always been blue. What's going on? What's happened to Destiny Islands?_"

Kairi asked, after changing into her normal outfit. She stepped outside before a look of surprise and terror crossed over her face. Destiny Islands looked like it was in shambles, houses destroyed and broken, fire burning in the remains of the once beautiful stone work.

"Kairi. Kairi. KAIRI!" Someone...familiar...yelled?

The air grew blurry, the scenery changed, and Destiny Islands was once again a sweet island paradise. A sweet paradise under attack by the Nobodies. Kairi turned to see a Dusk flying head on at her, Selphie right behind it with her nunchaku. Selphie was too late. In the split seconds between Kairi raising her arms to defend herself, and the Dusk nearly colliding with her, a bright flash of light engulfed her.

A brown-haired young man dressed in a white vest with light blue highlights, white pants with gold on the sides, black on the kneecaps, and wearing a white shirt tapped the earpiece in his ear. He stood on a hill overlooking the town, watching, scanning, observing the area.

"Flying Wing II, this is Eagle. You are clear to approach."

"Copy Eagle. Seen your princess yet?" a man's voice shot back on the earpiece.

"Yes sir. Give her a little bit and take it in easy. Tell our fine friend with the gun blade to give me a little covering fire, will you?"

"I can't make any promises, but I can try." the man rang back.

"10-4. Eagle, over and out."

He then began a careful descent downward, summoning two keyblades in his hands. The bright blue square handles shined brightly in the darkness, the long white blade extending forward to make a blue heart become the teeth, a blade on each side cupping the white blade's edge. Once he hit the flat ground, finished descending from his previous lofty height, he began to walk quickly, breaking into a jog, then nearly sprinting into town, blades extended, cutting through Nobodies as he went.

Kairi found herself drifting down, down, down, further into the ink-like water, if the substance around her was even water at all, descending into nothingness. Her feet touched the black edge of a stained glasses pillar, showing her in the center, Sora's face close to hers in a portrait, Riku's face at a respectable distance. Namine's face appeared nearby, highlighting the sunset on the glass. A red sky was shown making the ocean a little red, the beach warmly inviting her to step forward. She slowly took a few steps forward.

She watched as Namine and another girl in a black cloak appeared, Namine standing on her own picture, the girl standing on Kairi's face.

Kairi watched in shock as the girl summoned a keyblade, the gray curved guard meeting the long, thin, blue blade. The teeth angled in, then became flat, then angled out. A 'V' was stuck through the center. It was elegant and deadly.

"Fight." the girl said, charging at Kairi.

Kairi jumped back as the girl swung at empty air. "I can't! I don't have anything, nobody taught me, and...and...and..." She shot back.

"Kairi." Namine said, reaching a hand forward to Kairi.

Kairi continued to duck and dodge the girl's attacks, sliding out of reach, rolling away, and sometimes cartwheeling out of the girl's range. She paused, exhausted. A sharp pain prodded her at her side. The girl had struck her! The blade then slipped from her grasp, falling into Kairi's hands as she quickly caught it.

"RainFell..." Kairi mused out loud.

"Kairi, you have your Keyblade. I'm with you and will do whatever I can to help." Namine commented, smiling.

"As will I. Though...next time we meet, we may be in seperate bodies. But I want you to know my name for when that time comes. I'm Xion." Xion said, keeping her hood up.

"Thank you. I won't let you down." Kairi stated, before everything went white.

Church bells rang ceremonially in the newly restored chapel in Radiant Garden. Today was a special day, and an important one. It was the marriage of Snow Villers and Serah Farron. Assorted friends and some of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee were the guests for this occasion. Merlin officiated the ceremony, the old wizard touched with joy at the new couple. Tifa, Vanille, and even Fang had become bridesmaids, while Leon and Cid were groomsmen. For reasons unkwown, Yuffie wound up being the ring bearer. Aerith calmly played the piano, soothing wedding music emitting from the grand instrument. A almost realistic statue of a man draped in a long black cloak looked peacefully over the crowd, his arms outstretched in graceful manner. A Moogle rested on his shoulder, almost watching everything.

"Say, Fang. Don't you look think Serah and Snow look adorable?" Vanille happily whispered to Fang.

"Vanille, not now." Fang fired back.

"But Fanggggggg..." Vanille silently pleaded.

"Shush."

"Yes ma'am." Vanille dejectedly said.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here on this beautiful afternoon in Radiant Garden to celebrate the lawful union of Snow Villers and Serah Farron. Before we begin, does anyone have any objections? Speak now, or forever hold your peace." Merlin carefully stated, then looked over the crowd.

As if on cue, the chapel doors slammed open. Distant gunfire roared outside, drawing closer.

"I object!"

"As do I!"

"So do we both."

Everyone turned around to view the perpetrators who committed such a heinous act. Tifa let out a loud gasp as murmurs ripped through the assembled group. Leon pinched his nose very hard. Cid nearly dropped his toothpick.

Cloud Strife had come into the chapel, his outfit in tatters and soaked with dried blood. He was resting on his sword as a crutch, and he kept forcing himself to stay awake to keep from falling asleep. He panted in long, heavy breaths.

The man beside him carried a automatic sub machine gun, checking over the condition of his weapon. He wore a blue button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His dark khaki pants and combat boots made Leon pinch his nose all the harder.

Because he was Yuffie's adopted uncle, and therefore related to him by extent. Laguna. Laguna Loire was his name.

The other two men seemed less occupied with their weapons, more so with closing the large wooden doors of the chapel. The first man was covered in purple dragon like armor, his hair even dyed purple at the back. The dragon like mask on his face shrouded him from view, but the spear in his hand told the others what he was:

He was a Dragoon, famous for their acrobatics and spear fighting.

Fang felt a mixture of awe, jealousy, and pride at the same time for the guy.

The other man kept his white hair aligned a certain way, his saber and short spear at his waist for the draw. The long, billowing, white cape with its purple interior, the purple streaks exquisitely etched into his armor, almost made him seem like a fairy take prince to life. A pendant of the moon hung around his neck.

"People, mine name is Cecil Harvey. I am a Paladin, and will do all in my power to protect you. My friend Kain is Dragoon as you can tell, and he will do the same." Cecil loudly explained, before bowing.

Kain stepped forward. "If any of you have weapons, ready them. If not, pray to whatever deity or thing you believe in for a quick death. That is all."

Kain promptly plucked his spear forward, twirling it around before tucking it under his arm.

Cecil held his saber in hand.

And everyone else drew their weapons, Snow cracking his knuckles, Leon drawing his gunblade. Cid surprisingly unpacked a flamethrower from a suitcase.

And somehow, Yuffie had managed to slip into her combat attire AND draw her giant shuriken from underneath the pillow the ring was resting on. Vanile, Fang and Serah had even changed clothes, Serah finally removing her veil.

Tifa had rushed over to Cloud, cradling him as he slumped forward. Aerith was at Cloud's right, casting healing magic to seal the wounds.

"Tifa..." Cloud moaned.

"Yes, Cloud?"

"He's back...with friends..." Cloud gasped for air, his lungs screaming white hot with every breath he took in.

"You mean...Sephiroth?" Tifa reeled back in shock. Sephiroth had been gone for some time, banished when he and Cloud last fought.

Cloud weakly nodded.

Tifa reeled back further, only to bump into Snow.

"I don't care if he's a Fal'Cie. He won't get away with ruining a hero's wedding! Because heroes deserve a nice wedding without _interruptions_..." Snow lightly thumped the stone wall with his fist. He was not pleased.

But everyone grew battle ready when the Heartless appeared inside the castle. Yuffie promptly stabbed several Shadows with her shuriken, flung it to Vanille, who burnt it with magic.

Snow panicked when he heard Serah scream. Several monsters, larger than the others, stormed at Serah. If he was correct, they were called NeoShadows. They were also very fast. He couldn't make it in time...

He mentally swore. Repeatedly.

The next thing he saw, the statue above Serah fell straight forward into a near perfect swan dive, the Moogle turn into a bowsword, which became a sword, and the statue pulled a large blade out of his robe's sleeve.  
He promptly cut through the Heartless in four swift motions, then drew a smaller sword from the larger one for his other hand. Serah drew her bow and went to work.

"Dang it Noel. You beat me to the punch." Snow quietly said.

Cloud figured they had at least fifteen minutes until Sephiroth arrived. That was if the man in the purple armor with the large sword bearing a red eye, or the green skinned witch didn't teleport him here. If they didn't, Sephiroth absolutely loved showing up early.

Cloud let himself slip into unconsciousness, the church bells reminding of a friend he once met...

* * *

I'm Back!

/shot/

Sorry, I was-

/shot/

I-

/shot/

Okay, fine. I've been very lazy. If you're ever confused about how anyone is, PM me.

I apologize for anyone being confused. That's my fault as a writer, and you fans and readers shouldn't have to suffer that.

I owe the inspriation and credit for KH: Reverse to several sources.

For those of you who don't know, Kingdom Hearts: Reverse is a video game idea I sent to Square Enix. Pardon. I sent it to SQUARE ENIX USA and SQUARE ENIX in Japan. By letter. A six page long letter in English, seven pages in Japanese. No, I don't speak Japanese. But google translate does...

I thought of everything:

Game engine: Crystal Tools (notably used in FINAL FANTASY XIII AND FINAL FANTASY XIII-2)

Voice actors: all the good actors and actresses, save Namine being voiced by Meghan Jeanne Martin. (I don't think Brittany Snow is available...)

Platform: PS3 and Xbox 360. And yes, I included those in the letter. It's beyond time to go back to home consoles.

Musical score: Mrs. Yoko Shimuora and the three musical directors from FF13-2.

I tried to think of everything, really. I even through in a party system allowing 3-4 characters, and you can play as different people. You're no longer limited to just one or two or three main playable people! There's eight people to choose from, including Kairi and Namine.

There's three main inspirations for this:

1. Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance- If you're currently playing this, stop reading. I repeat, stop reading. Chapter Five (SPOILER) is the secret ending for KH3D.(SPOILER END)

Within the first paragraph, I pretty much spoiled the ending of KH3D. Well, part of it.

2. Final Fantasy XIII-2- This is where a lot of the opening came from. If you have ever played this, then you could see a certain similarity between this and KH:Reverse. FF13-2 is also kind of confusing, so sorry if I confused anyone.

3. Kingdom Hearts Fandom: I've always loved to hear what fans say, good or bad. There's a small portion of you that want to see Kairi actually do SOMETHING, rather than be another Zelda, sitting around, getting kidnapped. I agree. Kairi has some spunk to her. Not so much as Aqua(or in my book, the Lightning rip-off with blue hair, toned down to be nice but can still kick your face in twelve ways to Sunday.), but, if she had the right opportunity, she could achieve something.

I've read tons of KH3 fanfics. Some good, some bad, and some that are...weird. That's fandom, though.

Like I said earlier, if you have questions, send me a PM or leave a review. I'll back to you as soon as possible.


	2. Chapter 2

The young man ducked and dodged the Dusks coming at him, slipping by five of them, before throwing one the keyblades behind him. It flew in an arc, slicing through the Nobodies, then returned to it's owner's hand. And he still kept running. Running not for his life, but to find someone.

He drew both blades forward, bracing for more opponents. What seemed like a wall of Dusks formed instantly in front of him.

"_There's no way around, or through them. Guess I'll just have to charge through like a battering ram..._" he thought, his hope conflicting with despair at the over whelming obstacle before him. He crossed one blade before the other, both blades in front, forming a X-shaped shield of blades.

The Dusks were suddenly shredded apart by pink energy, small pink bullets of energy tearing through the living fortification.

The young man tapped his earpiece. "Lightning, I owe ya. How much this time?"

The former Guardian Corps Sergeant gave a light laugh. She readied her long gunblade, the words etched on the sides gleaming in the moonlight. Her armor shined in the white, golden glow of the moon, a long trail of feathers covering her right leg.

"If you can make it out without a single scratch, I'll call it even. That sound like a fair deal to you?" She asked, mowing down more Dusks.

"Fine by me. I can't make any guarantees, though." the young man said. He raced forward, swiping at a Dusk here or there, before finally spotting what he was after:

Kairi.

Kairi practiced swiping at the air for a few seconds with RainFell, before setting in on the first Dusk she spotted. A presence from behind made her roll forward, avoiding a swipe at her. She paused, listening through the chaotic battle around her. Someone was running. Running at her

"DUCK!"

"Huh?" Kairi asked, confused.

"I don't mean duck as in fowl, I mean literally, DUCK!" Kairi could now see who the voice belonged to.

A young man dressed in a white shirt, white vest with a blue interior, white pants that were black on knees, with a thin line of gold running down the side. His brown hair was kept pointed straight forward, towards the front, his brown eyes piercing the night.

Kairi crouched to the ground as she watched the young man hurl his keyblade forward by the chain, cleaving through a Dusk at least 5 feet in front of him. The chain retracted back into the hilt, as the young man rubbed at his arm.

"Ow...Chain burn! Hot hot hot...Ow. Ow. Ow ow. Ow!" he said, still rubbing his arm.

Kairi giggled. "So, cool move. But is your arm okay?"

"Yeah it'll be fine. Oh man. Forgot to introduce myself. Shiro. Shiro Yang. And you are..."

"Kairi. Pleasure to meet you." Kairi responded, tensing as a Dusk came close. Without looking, Shiro cut through the Nobody in one blow. Kairi felt impressed.

"Call it the wrong question to ask in a war-zone, but do you know how to fight?" Shiro asked, flipping the blade in his left hand backwards.

Kairi shook her head. "Well...not really."

"Good. Best way to learn is to get your feet wet. Follow my lead, alright?" Shiro asked, moving out of the mayor's front yard. Kairi nodded, taking a jog forward, holding RainFell down to avoid getting cut.

"Alright. Let's start by just making a simple combo. A combo is when you chain several hits together. Think you can do it?" Shiro explained, then raised a eyebrow in challenge.

"Of course. I just need to land several hits together." Kairi calmly said.

She swiped to the right. Another hit, diagonal, left, down. A quick flurry up, and then she zipped behind the Dusk using Reversal and finished it off with a stab inward.

Shiro clapped, his keyblades vanishing momentarily. "Well done!"

Kairi looked pleased with her efforts.  
"What's the cause of all of these Nobodies for no reason?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip.

"My guess is Anti-Souls. You see, a Heartless is a person's Darkness, and Nobody is the body of someone whose heart left them, but a Anti-Soul is when the spirt, separated from the body and heart, begins to physically move around. When a Anti-Soul is formed, sometimes a small group of Nobodies appear. Normally five or six. But this many? I get the feeling whoever caused this, didn't want a few sparse Nobodies. It seems they wanted a overflow of Nobodies so the Anti-Souls could flip the world. if we find the Anti-Souls here, we'll stop two things. One, the Dusks will go away. Two, the world won't be flipped and turned catastrophic."

Kairi looked shocked.

"I take it you've seen the mirror image of Destiny Islands. I've heard only people with a lot of light in their hearts can do that. You must be pretty special, Princess." Shiro said, cutting through more Nobodies. He hurled both blades around, slashing the Dusks into nothingness.

"How do you know I'm a Princess of Heart?" Kairi asked, beating a Dusk over the head.

"I didn't. Lucky guess, I suppose." Shiro countered, blocking a Dusk before X-slashing through it.  
"_If she finds out how much I __**really **__know, or what I am, she'll never want to join. Think Shiro. Act like a 15 year __old again..._" he thought to himself.

"Shiro, are you okay?" Kairi asked. The keyblade wielder had been staring ahead.

"Me? I'm fine. Just thinking." Shiro responded.

A low, cold, wind blew past Kairi and Shiro showing them three figures. Selphie, Tidus and Wakka were laying comatose nearby. Three solid white figures with piercing silver eyes looked back at them. One swung a nunchaku around, her petite figure nearly shining in the moonlight.  
The second figure held a sword in his hand, the long blue blade gleaming as the moon hit it. The third figure spun a blitzball on his finger, solid silver eyes staring dead on at the duo.

"They're just like Selphie, Tidus and Wakka!" Kairi exclaimed.

"Then these must be Anti-Souls we're looking for. I have a feeling this won't be easy. Can you trust me, Kairi?" Shiro asked.

"Of course. That's what friends do." Kairi said happily, determined not to lose.

"Good. Then let's wail on them!" Shiro shouted.

"Right!" Kairi affirmed, charging alongside Shiro into battle.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, anyone know why exactly Cid has a flamethrower?" Vanille asked, blasting another batch of Heartless with Thunder magic.

"Beats me. He said he brought it with him from Traverse Town. He also said it was a good way to keep Heartless from coming in his shop." Yuffie explained. "Vanille! You missed one..." Yuffie promptly threw her shuriken through a Watcher, the security bot disintegrating into eerie black mist.

"Hey! That one was mine!" Vanille shouted, stomping her feet on the granite floor. "Not fair, or fun!"

"Aw, c'mon Vanille. You know what they say: "All's fair in love and war- especially when you're trying to best the Great Ninja Yuffie's record of defeated heartless!" Yuffie said, proudly twirling her shuriken around.

"If by 'record' you mean twenty Heartless, then yes, it does seem quite a steep challenge. But I think everyone here has surpassed that mark. Even Snow, which is...well...surprising, given his hothead tendencies." Noel remarked, swiftly impaling two Heartless with his spear. Noel's spear is the result of combining both his weapons, allowing greater power in a single form.

Yuffie watched on dumbfounded as Noel continued to slice through Heartless, as if he was equivalent of Cloud or Leon's skills.

"Serah needs a guy of that caliber to keep her safe?" she asked aloud.

"Yes, but she also needs someone of that caliber to be on par with her. Serah's a lot tougher than you would think." Vanille added, winking.

Once again, Yuffie was dumbfounded.

Cloud jerked forward in pain, struggling to stand. "He's here."

Aerith reached a hand forward. "But Cloud...your wounds..."

Cloud took off, quickly dodging several Heartless, before a long, sharp sword struck his side.

"Haven't finished healing." she finished quietly.

"I think he'll be fine. Right, Snow?" Tifa turned around to see Snow single-handedly taking on six Heartless while two Shadows were clutched to his ankles.

"SNOW!" Tifa yelled.

"Don't worry about me! Between these guys, and Cloud and his _lovely_ entourage, and Serah surprisingly not being upset-"

A sudden horde of arrows instantly found their target, shattering the Heartless around and on Snow.

"Never mind. Seems Serah is ticked off as heck." Snow quickly said, readjusting his bowtie.

Serah shot a steely gaze at Snow.

"Scratch that last bit."

Serah shot another arrow through the head of a Watcher.

"Noel...Is it wrong if I _kill_ all these heartless?" she calmly asked.

The only thing Noel saw in her eyes slightly unnerved the hunter.

He only saw pure bloodlust.

Cloud's sword rang against the long, thick broadsword of his opponent.  
His spiky black hair showed underneath his spartan helmet. Darkness radiated around him, veins of it branching off his arms. His sword remained in Cloud's side, Cloud's red blood seeping into the blade.

"I...I...I won't fight you. Unless you force my hand. Which you just did. " Cloud said, gripping his Buster Sword.

Within two seconds, the black haired man was sent through Snow and Serah's cake and outside the chapel.

Cloud gave pursuit.

No one saw Serah crying as she shot more arrows at the Heartless.

"I have the sudden feeling that a large, expensive, and rather delicious cake was destroyed. Shame. I wanted a piece." Shiro commented, easily dodging Tidus' Anti-Soul's swipes at him.

"Why are you thinking of cake at a time like this?" Kairi asked, blocking the blitzball thrown at her.

"Because...cake is good for your soul." Shiro continued, hitting Tidus' Anti-Soul upside the head.

"Are you trying for irony?" Kairi retorted, swiping at Wakka's Anti-Soul.

"Not intentionally. C'mon, this is taking to long! I have an idea. What if we Synch?" Shiro exclaimed, chucking a keyblade by the chain at the Selphie Anti-Soul.

"Synch?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, Synch. Where either you or I can borrow the other person's abilities. It's temporary." Shiro continued.

"So, how do I make it work?" Kairi questioned.

"Simple. It comes from within. I'm sure you'll get it to work." Shiro said.

A brief glow encompassed Kairi, changing her outfit. Her skirt transformed into white capris with a streak of gold running down the sides, a almost semi-circle of black where they touched her knees. Her pink exterior top became a white vest with a blue interior, her white undershirt lengthening up to her neck. A charm made of a chain wrapped together around her left wrist, a small portion of extra chain hanging off to display a blue heart.

Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie's Anti-Souls, if had been human and had emotions and faces, would have probably been stupefied. The three beings stood motionless.

"Okay, now's your chance." Shiro commented.

Kairi took a nervous step back.

"What? Me? Did I forget to add that I kind of have a backseat here?" Shiro added, now ghost-like.

"Hey, look! I'm intangible!" Shiro said, before running into a tree.

Shiro lifted his index finger up. "Perhaps transparent would be a better word."

Kairi honestly giggled.

Shiro recovered, removing himself from the tree. "Guess I'm not a tree-hugging type. Trees and I do not get along." He floated near Kairi, their connection now deepening.

Kairi focused her brow in determination.

"Alright, if I was you, I would start with whoever I can counter and disarm first, then, take your second hardest, and save the hardest opponent for last. But that's just me." Shiro commented, scanning the trio before him and Kairi.

_"Right. But who to start with?"_ Kairi thought, pausing. Then the idea came to her.

_"I got it!" _she mentally affirmed.

_"Good. I was wondering who long it took for you to make a plan. Now, work the plan."_ Shiro thought, telepathically communicating with Kairi.

_"Forgot to mention that too?"_

Shiro looked away sheepishly. _"I owe you a long explanation later, don't I?"_

_"Oh yes you do. Along with 5 munny."_ Kairi mentally added.

Two keyblades appeared in Kairi's hands, one being RainFell, the other Shiro's Keyblade. She swung them around, getting used to the change in weight and balance from the weapons.

She charged first at Selphie, knocking her nunchaku out of her hand, then quickly knocking her right arm to the right until she heard it pop. Wakka was next, Kairi smiling as she caught hold of Wakka's blitzball in mid-air and hurled at his stomach. She followed up by throwing Shiro's keyblade at his jaw, leaving a swelling black spot on the monster.

Tidus was last. Kairi ducked and dodged his blade, her two blades finally meeting his own. The Anti-Soul's silver eyes glared harshly at Kairi, who was putting everything she had into keeping the blade from slicing her in two. Kairi suddenly found more strength coming from elsewhere, but she knew the source:

Shiro.

In three seconds, Kairi knocked the blade away, cut the Anti-Soul's hand off, the appendage still clutching the blade, and stabbed Tidus' Anti-Soul. The three Anti-Souls disintegrated, as a green, blue, and red orb returned to Selphie, Tidus and Wakka respectively.

Afterwards, Kairi's outfit returned to normal, Shiro appearing beside her. Dawn began to break over the Islands, the Dusks disappearing into Corridors of Darkness. Selphie stirred first, Tidus after her, yawning, while Wakka laid peacefully on the shore.

Selphie rubbed her eyes, then looked up at Kairi. "I could have sworn I was fighting you...Guess it must have been a dream, huh?"

"Guess so." Kairi said.

"Who's the new guy? I haven't seen him before." Selphie asked, standing.

"Milady, I am Shiro Yang. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Shiro said, bowing.

Selphie blushed. "Thank you. I'm Selphie, that's Tidus, and the one _apparently sleeping _is Wakka." she sharply said at Wakka.

"Chill, girl. I'm kinda enjoying catching a few rays. School's kept me inside to long. No sun, no fun, man, brudda, not even time for blitzball. But dis? Brudda like me got da time for dis." Wakka calmly said.

"You still owe me an explanation." Kairi said, watching Selphie antics of getting Wakka to move.

"Which I will tell you on the way to Master Yen Sid's Tower." Shiro countered.

"And how will we get there?"

"I have a ship, of course. I don't think you mind a state of the art communications suite that can provide high quality transmissions to and from any planet, a fully functional galley, stocked with food and cookware, and separate men and women's rooms, as well as a medical bay, and eight premier cabins for important occasions?" Shiro suggested, cocking his left eyebrow up.

"Almost sounds to good to be true." Kairi said.

"Perhaps so. I guess I'll explain during the tour?" Shiro said, wrapping an arm around Kairi, both of them headed for Shiro's ship.


	4. Chapter 4

Kairi walked back through the mayor's house one more time, checking to see she had everything.

She gave everything a last look over before grabbing what she needed, packing it into a backpack, and felt ready to leave her home for now, if not forever.

Shiro stood outside.

"Ready to go?" he asked, turning to face outside town.

"Ready as I can be." Kairi affirmed.

"Okay, good. There are a few people you'll meet on board the ship, and a few more on down the road, but they're all good people." Shiro said, starting to walk towards the hill where he was previously perched, Kairi keeping steady pace with him.

"Flying Wing II, this is Shiro. I need a pick-up, stat." Shiro said, tapping his earpiece.

"I hear ya. Gimme a sec, alright?" the man on the other end responded.

"Okay, okay. Don't bite my head off or anything."

"I'd be worrying about Miss Sunshine. She said something about 'cleanin' your clock' or something. Had to do with a lost wager, I take it?" The man continued.

"If I say 'maybe', will you guess what will happen next?" Shiro countered.

"Hey, know when to hold em'..."

"Know when to fold em'." Shiro finished, before laughing.

A large, long shadow eclipsed both Kairi and Shiro. Kairi marveled at the long triangular wings coming from both sides of the craft, the powerful engines quietly roaring to keep the aircraft afloat. She was shocked when the wings tilted up, the engines faceddown at a 45 degree angle. The grass moved beneath their wake, calmly swaying as the hot air fanned them.

The front of the ship held a long open cockpit, the middle of the ship long and somewhat wide, like someone had expanded the original design to accommodate more room. From what she could see, it looked like there was a rear cockpit, perhaps for a gunner, navigator, or just for viewing the world around themselves.

"I take it you like it?" Shiro nearly shouted, the dull roar of the air around him louder than usual.

"Yeah! It's impressive, I'll say that!" Kairi yelled back.

"Then come aboard!" Shiro shouted, taking Kairi by the hand. A white beam of light enveloped them, transporting them onboard.

Kairi was more impressed with the inside. Smooth metal floors, leading to two well polished spiraling staircase that lead to the upper deck, as well as the eight cabins as Shiro had mentioned, each bearing a different symbol and decoration. Between the space of the two staircases was a door marked "Hope's Lab. Warning: When the light above the door is on, do not disturb. Testing will be in progress." The light above the door clicked off as a young man with silver hair stepped out, his white shirt with yellow inserts on the sleeves prim and proper, gray pants aligned, his black boots polished, his blue tie held in place by a silver pin with two wings on it.

"Hope Estheim, at your service." he said, offering a hand.

Kairi shook it. " I'm Kairi. Do you know a 'Riku', by chance?. He's a friend of mine with silver hair."

Hope paused, thinking. "No. Not that I know of. Though people with silver hair are often considered special. But, point aside...No. I haven't ever met a 'Riku'."

"Hope is the go-to-guy for all the technology and science business. He's smart, charming, a gentleman, and is a very courageous person." Shiro commented, making Hope pause before chuckling.

"I guess most of that is accurate." He said, before heading upstairs.

Kairi froze as she felt a icy cold wind pass over her. She turned slowed to see a woman dressed in intricate armor, a long trail of feathers covering her left leg. A small round shield was in her left hand, the other holding a very long blade with words in a language Kairi had never seen. She looked Kairi up and down once, her pink hair moving a little as she did. She kept her hair in a ponytail to the left.

She huffed. "Tch. You're...okay. But you have a lot to improve on, Princess."

The mysterious woman then went upstairs, entering at a door with a lightning bolt on it, rose petals scattered on the metallic frame. She paused to turn around.

"Shiro, you owe me a favor...at a later date of my choosing." she said, before entering her own room.

Shiro's face paled.

"You'll have to excuse her. She's Lightning. Not exactly the most talkative or friendly type, but she works on it. I hope. Maybe. I dunno, really." Shiro quickly spoke.

"If you would come upstairs, there's one more person to meet before we head out."

Kairi and Shiro both walked up the stairs, as Kairi found Hope waiting outside a door, a slightly concerned look upon his face.

"Shiro, I have a urgent message from Fang. I've told her that you're busy, but she won't take that as answer."

Shiro quickly faced Hope then turned back to Kairi.

"She can wait." He confirmed to Hope.

"The room that Hope is next to is the strategy center. To the left is the main cockpit, and to the left of that is the galley. If you could step inside the cockpit, I'll give you one more introduction."

The duo stepped inside, and Kairi gasped at what she saw. They were a few thousand feet above the planet's surface, the islands now little specks on the giant blue canvas that was the ocean.

"Now, now, don't you go messing with me when I'm flying. Hey...hey! Watch it! Sometimes I think you might be the death of me..." a African American man with a afro was talking with something. Seconds later, a small chocobo chick popped out of his hair, pecking his forehead.

"Kairi, Sazh Katzory. Sazh, Kairi." Shiro introduced the two, laughing at chocobo's antics. Within seconds, the chocobo flew in Shiro's face squeaking and squawking at him.

"Alright, alright...Oi. Forgot to mention it, but the chocobo's name is Chocobocolina." Shiro said.

As if told by command, the chocobo flew up and displayed it's feathers proudly, making Kairi smile.

"You like the view?" Sazh asked, turning around from his pilot's chair.

"It's...it's really wonderful. Is it always like this in here? I mean, is it always so beautiful?" Kairi asked, looking at her adopted home below.

"Normally, yeah. But sometimes..." Sazh sighed before going on.

"Things aren't as pretty as they should be. But normally, it's all good." Sazh replied.

"Uh...Kairi, would mind if I...um...answer that message I had earlier? It won't take to long, promise." Shiro hesitantly asked.

"Sure. Go right ahead." Kairi flashed a grin at Shiro as the young man ducked out of the cockpit and into the strategy center.

Before he went into the room, he paused for a second.

"Hope, could you show Kairi to her quarters?" he asked. Hope nodded, before escorting Kairi downstairs to her room.

A round table with a light blue surface that looked like liquid crystal, projected various screens and small models of worlds on display, but those went to the background as a life-sized image of Fang appeared before Shiro. She was one knee, her right hand holding her spear to keep her up on balance.

"Took ya long enough, Shiro. Serah and Snow's wedding got interrupted and-"

Fang paused as a large purple sword, the edge coming out much like a scimitar or hook, sliced where she had been. Fang came back down on top of her attacker, driving her spear into his left shoulder. Noel came up from behind, driving both his blades into his opponent's thighs.

"Damn you Caius. Damn you." Noel swore, driving his blade in further.

Caius laughed, but was then silenced as a purple spear drove itself through his left arm.

Kain sighed in triumph. "You are not a match for the trump card."

"And you're just a pathetic fighter. Join me, and you could be much more. I can promise you power beyond your dreams." Caius suggested, ignoring the pain in his arm.

Noel tackled Caius forward, sitting on top of his back as he punched Caius' head over and over, tears streaming down his face as he did.

"Damn you! This...this was supposed to be my friend's perfect day and you just show up and ruin the thing! Damn you, Caius. Damn you."

Fang looked back to her transmitter. "Anyway, the wedding's torn to a Pulsian desert, Vanille's been resisting to shine Yuffie's clock, and Mr. Tall, Purple, and Carries a large sword over here just showed up. So did some guy with one wing and silver hair. You found Kai-Kai yet?"

"I did find her. She's a very good fighter." Shiro responded.

"Have you told her what you are? You know, 'your secret'?" Fang questioned, cocking her head.

Shiro paused, his expression turning darker and more serious.

"What?! You want me to waltz up to her and say 'Hey, guess what? I'm Anti-incarnate, and I'm trying to stop Anti-Darkness from consuming the Realm of Light.' You know what most people do? They stutter, run away, or think I'm supposed to be Darkness incarnate. That's why she doesn't know until the time is right."

"Suit yourself. But remember Shiro, karma always comes around." Fang said, ending the transmission.

A figure watched from her palace in the Anti-Realm, in love at the sight of Anti-Darkness pouring itself into the Realm of Light. She gave a light laugh, her black hair with streaks of dark blue moving with her head bobbing up and down. Her crimson cloak shined palely in darkened light. "So, time for Kuro to meet her new body. I wonder what a Princess of Heart's body feels like..."


End file.
